Tripura woman plays Rs.2.5 crore fraud on Mumbaikar

Agartala, July 25 (IANS) The parents of a Tripura woman want her punished after she was jailed for allegedly cheating a senior citizen in Mumbai of over Rs.2.5 crore by posing as former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s daughter.

A four-member Mumbai police team led by Inspector Benzamin Fernandez, now in Tripura to probe the case, spoke to the relatives and parents of the woman, Paramita Chakraborty.

“Paramita’s father, who is a school teacher, mother and other close relatives want apt punishment for her,” a Tripura Police official quoting a Mumbai police team told reporters here Monday.

The official said: “Paramita’s parents told the Mumbai police team that they have no relation with their daughter after she left the state in 2001.”

Smart and fluent in English, 28-year-old Paramita, impersonating as the daughter of Bhattacharjee, allegedly cheated a senior citizen of Mumbai to the tune of over Rs.2.5 crore over three years.

Paramita originally hails from northern Tripura’s Kamalpur, 140 km north of capital city Agartala.

“Introducing herself as the daughter of the former West Bengal chief minister, Paramita borrowed cash on different occasions from Usha Mishra, a 62-year-old citizen of Mumbai’s Amboli area,” the Tripura police official said.

She did not return the money. Mishra then lodged a police complaint in February this year. Paramita’s friend Aryan was also arrested and Mumbai police suspect several more people might be involved in the crime.

Mumbai Police sent a detailed letter to Tripura police about the incident and sought their help in probing the case.

According to Mumbai police, before her arrest Paramita was staying in a house owned by Mishra.

“Paramita claimed her father, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, had no money left after an income tax raid at their residence in West Bengal. Since she spoke fluent English and claimed to own a shop in an Andheri mall, Mishra and her family never suspected anything,” Mumbai police told the Tripura police.

“Paramita borrowed lakhs of rupees several times from the victim on one pretext or another,” the Mumbai police officer said, adding that the total amount stood at Rs.2.5 crore.

According to Tripura Police, the woman while studying in the Women’s College in Agartala several years ago was implicated in cheating cases and left for Kolkata before completing her graduation. In Kolkata too, she was involved in some cheating cases, they said.